title: Aberrant disgust responses and immune reactivity in cocaine-dependent men.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Infectious diseases are the most common and cost-intensive health complications associated with drug addiction. There is wide belief that drug-dependent individuals expose themselves more regularly to disease-related pathogens through risky behaviors such as sharing pipes and needles, thereby increasing their risk for contracting an infectious disease. However, evidence is emerging indicating that not only lifestyle but also the immunomodulatory effects of addictive drugs, such as cocaine, may account for their high infection risk. As feelings of disgust are thought to be an important psychological mechanism in avoiding the exposure to pathogens, we sought to investigate behavioral, physiological, and immune responses to disgust-evoking cues in both cocaine-dependent and healthy men.
  
  
  METHODS
  All participants (N = 61) were exposed to neutral and disgust-evoking photographs depicting food and nonfood images while response accuracy, latency, and skin conductivity were recorded. Saliva samples were collected before and after exposure to neutral and disgusting images, respectively. Attitudes toward disgust and hygiene behaviors were assessed using questionnaire measures.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Response times to disgust-evoking photographs were prolonged in all participants, and specifically in cocaine-dependent individuals. While viewing the disgusting images, cocaine-dependent individuals exhibited aberrant skin conductivity and increased the secretion of the salivary cytokine interleukin-6 relative to control participants.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data provide evidence of a hypersensitivity to disgusting stimuli in cocaine-dependent individuals, possibly reflecting conditioned responses to noningestive sources of infection. Coupled with a lack of interoception of bodily signals, aberrant disgust responses might lead to increased infection susceptibility in affected individuals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, United Kingdom; Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, United Kingdom. Electronic address: ke220@cam.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Karen D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Ersche
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Cindy C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Hagan
authors.affiliation: Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Dana G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Sanja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Abbott
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: P Simon
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, United Kingdom; Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Annemieke M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Apergis-Schoute
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Immunology, Cambridge University Hospitals National Health Service Foundation Trust, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Döffinger
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000276:immunology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D003463:Cues; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D004644:Emotions; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response / Q000502:physiology*; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D016207:Cytokines; D015850:Interleukin-6
keywords: Conditioned immunoactivation; cytokines; drug addiction; infection susceptibility; interleukin (IL)-6; interoception